The Sword class Fast Frigate was the first spacecraft designed as a
warship. The Commonwealth Space Force called it a police and patrol vessel, but
with a 2.5 meter 250MJ ultraviolet laser in the nose and eight two stage
buckshot missiles facing forward, it stood to reason that police actions would
end in surrender or destruction. And the two 25mm close in support cannons
discouraged any boarders or portside troublemakers. But in forty years of
service, the Swords never needed to fire more than warning shots; there
wasn't a lot of pirate activity in the years before the turn of the
twenty-second century.

Fast was a misnomer as well. Maximum delta-V was over 500kps, but with few
frontier fuel facilities, the ships were effectively limited to 120kps maximum
in the course of an in-and-out voyage. And that was at top efficiency pushing a
whole twentieth of a gee when fully loaded. This limited the effective
six-month cruise range to no further out than Jupiter. This wasn't an issue
when the first ship entered service in 2070, but by 2100, over four thousand
people lived out at Saturn.

As with all vessels, the Swords were a series of compromises. The
thirty meter swing arms could provide gravity for the crew of twelve when
stationary or coasting, but when the main engine fired, ten thousand square
meters of fragile radiator surface area stretched far away from the core, so
rotating and thrusting weren't compatible activities. Patrol duties such as
search and rescue were also limited by the lack of additional quarters, and the
forward section was mostly fuel tank, with no capacity for additional drop
tanks.

In spite of these limitations, the Swords were reliable vessels and
well-loved by their crews. Admiral Zhang's memoirs recount her fondest memories
from the five tours during which she commanded the Tulwar.